Summit

Summit is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city is located on a ridge in northern-central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. At the 2010 United States census, the city's population was 21,457, reflecting an increase of 326 (+1.5%) from the 21,131 counted in the 2000 Census. During the American Revolutionary War, Summit was known as "Beacon Hill", because bonfire beacons were lit on an eastern ridge in Summit to warn the New Jersey militiamen of approaching British troops. The region in which Summit is located was purchased from Native Americans on October 28, 1664. Summit's earliest European settlers came to the area around the year 1710. In 1837, the Morris and Essex Railroad, which became the Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad, was built over what was then called "The Summit" hill, a name later shortened to Summit. In the late 19th century, the area began shifting from farmland to wealthy estates; in 1892, renowned architect C. Abbott French cleared away a crest of a "summit ridge", removing "an impenetrable tangle of wild vines... and myriads of rattlesnakes," to build a house with a view of New York City, The Times Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Summit was the home of America's "antivice crusader", Anthony Comstock, who moved there about 1880.

History

Summit's earliest European settlers came to the area around the year 1710. In 1837, the Morris and Essex Railroad, which became the Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad, was built over what was then called "The Summit" hill, a name later shortened to Summit. In the 19th century, Summit served as a nearby getaway spot for wealthy residents of New York City in search of fresh air. The present-day incarnation of Summit was incorporated on April 11, 1899. Summit was the home of America's "antivice crusader", Anthony Comstock, who moved there about 1880 and built a house in 1892 at 35 Beekman Road, where he died in 1915. In 1915, there was a strike at the Summit Silk Company on Weaver Street. A trolley line called the Morris County Traction Company, once ran a passenger trolley through Summit to/from Newark to and Morris County, in the early part of the 20th century. Portions of Broad Street in Summit were designed and built for the trolley, which is why it is wider and straighter than the streets in the city of the 1980s. In 1898, authorities and New York Telephone Company had disputes about wires and telephone poles; the city acted and "wires and cables of the company were cut from the poles" in one incident. In 1905, a number of passengers seeking to board the 6:35 train found their way barred and cleared away, when the company said the door wasn't there.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 6.05 square miles (15.66 km²) It is about 20 miles (32 km) west of Manhattan. Springfield Avenue is the city's main street. It is bordered to the northeast by Millburn in Essex County, to the northwest by Chatham and Chatham Township, and to the southwest by Berkeley Heights. Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Brantwood Park and Tall Oaks. The city is located on the New Jersey Turnpike, which runs from New Jersey to New York City. It has a population of 1,716,000 (as of the 2010 U.S. Census). It is the most populous city in New Jersey, followed by New Jersey City, which has 1,813,000 people (as at the 2010 Census), and New Jersey Beach, with 1,071,000. It also has a large percentage of land, with 5.99 square miles of land and 0.13 km² of water (0.84%) It is located in the boroughs of Essex and Morris counties, and the towns of Chatham, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights, which are all in Morris County. It was the site of the World War II-era Battle of the Bulge, which took place in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The town was named after the town of Springfield, where the Battle of New York was fought.

Demographics

The 2010 United States census counted 21,457 people, 7,708 households, and 5,519 families in the city. The city has long been popular with traders, investment bankers, and money managers, with nearly 20% of Summit's residents working in finance and real estate. One report said that Manhattan's financial elite prefers living in Summit because of large houses, great schools, and NJ Transit's rail link to New York's financial district. The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $109,602 and the median family income was. $145,083. The per capita income for the city was $70,574. About 4.4% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4%, 5.9% of those under age 18, and 13.0% of people age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.18. The median age was 39.7 years. For every 100 females, the population had 96.8 males. The. median income for a household in theCity was $964,053 and the. family was $117,054. The population. density was 3,578.9 per square mile (1,381.8/km²). There were 8,190 housing units at an average density of 1,366.0 per squaremile (527.4/km 2). The racial makeup of the city is 87.77% White, 4.33% African American, 0.09% Native American, 4,45% Asian, 0,01% Pacific Islander, 1.70% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races.

Economy

Celgene is a biotechnology company and the largest corporate tax-payer in Summit. Overlook Medical Center is located on a hill with views of the Manhattan skyline and is operated by the Atlantic Health System. Hibernia Atlantic is headquartered in Summit and is a transatlantic submarine cable network provider. Whiptail Technologies is a maker of solid state storage appliances. It recently purchased a campus on the western part of Summit, formerly owned by Merck & Co. (formerly Schering Plough pharmaceuticals until a 2009 merger) these facilities were previously home to Novartis and, before that, Ciba. The city is home to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has one of the largest bases in New York City. It is also the home of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, which was founded in 1903. It was the first psychiatric hospital in the United States, and is now the second largest in the world, after the University of California, San Francisco. It also has a number of academic institutions, including the New Jersey School of Medicine and the New England School of Pharmacy. The town is also home to several universities, including New Jersey State University and the College of Arts and Sciences, which is located in the eastern part of the city. It has a population of about 3,000 people, with a population growth rate of 1.7% in the last five years. The average household income in the city is about $50,000.

Arts and culture

The Summit Opera House was built in the 1890s by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union as meeting place and dry entertainment hall. The Summit Playhouse mounts live dramatic performances. The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, on Elm Street diagonally across from the Summit Middle School, is a professionally recognized regional art center with an art school and an exhibition program. The city supports a program of public art organized by Summit Public Art, a volunteer-based city organization founded in 2002. In 2019, the city was encouraging artists, including singer-songwriters, to perform at local venues in the downtown area, as part of its Summit Street Sounds program.Horseback riding is available at the Watchung stables, located in the watchung Reservation since the 1930s. It is also possible to ride a horse in the Summit Reservation, which has been open to the public since the 1950s. The City of Summit is home to the New Jersey Museum of Art, which was founded in 1972. The museum is located on the corner of Springfield Avenue and Kent Place Boulevard in downtown Summit. It has a collection of more than 2,000 pieces of art, including works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Mathewson, and others. It also has a museum of photography, including a large collection of photographs of the Summit area. The Museum of Photography, which opened in 1973, is located in a former warehouse on the second floor of a building on the first floor of the former Summit High School.

Parks and recreation

Summit Community Center includes two gymnasiums, a senior citizens lounge, a meeting room, administrative offices, a game room, and a small kitchen. The Summit Park Line, a 1.2-mile pedestrian linear park that will run from Morris Avenue by the Overlook Medical Center to Briant Park, mostly along a segment of the abandoned Rahway Valley Railroad (RVRR) Residents have pushed for the full abandoned RVRR Main Line to become a rail trail. The New Jersey Department of Transportation, which owns the railbed, has been working to clear its southern end for possible use as a trail. It could conceivably connect in the Cranford area with the unused Staten Island Rapid Transit line, eventually connecting to a bridge over the Kill Kill Kill in Linden, New Jersey. In 2022, as the summit Park Line proceeds, advocates have also been pushing for immediate development of the RVRr Main Line south of Route 22, running southbound past the Galloping Hill Golf Course through Kenilworth and Roselle Park. In 2019 the city finished the renovations of the expanded Summit Community Center, which allows indoor basketball for youth and senior citizens lounges. The renovated facility also has two parking lots, and there is a small parking lot in the parking lot next to the community center. There is a pond for ice-skating and fishing, some picnic areas, athletic fields and a fitness trail in Hidden Valley Park. There are six small park areas along the Passaic River in western Union County (Summit, New Providence, Berkeley Heights).

Government

Summit operates under the city form of municipal government. The mayor is elected by the city for a four-year term and is the city's official spokesman and chief elected official. The common council has the chief policy making and administrative oversight role in city government. Summit had never elected a Democrat as mayor until 2003, when Jordan Glatt was elected. In November 2019, for the first time in Summit's history, Democrats were elected to hold the majority of seats on the council. The city administrator is responsible for engineering, public works, and public works administration. The council approves all laws and adopts the city budget. The president presides at all council meetings, and the president pro tem presides in the president's absence. In February 2021, the common council selected Lisa K. Allen from a list of three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the Second Ward seat expiring in December 2022 that had been held by Stephen Bowman until he resigned from office. In December 2020, Susan Hairston became the first African-American council member in city history, becoming the same seat that became vacant following the death of Matthew Gould. In January 2021, Beth Little was elected to serve the balance of the term of office; Second Ward. In the same year, the council selected Andy Minegar to fill an unexpired seat; First Ward. As of 2022, the mayor of Summit is Democrat Nora G. Radest, whoseterm of office ends December 31, 2023. In 2015, the youngest-ever elected city official was the youngest at the age of 24, Richard Sun, who was elected in November 2015.

Education

As of the 201819 school year, the district had an enrollment of 3,961 students and 349.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a studentteacher ratio of 11.3:1. The district's board of education is comprised of seven members who set policy and oversee the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. Of the more than 600 school districts statewide, Summit is one of 15 districts with appointed school districts. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the day-to-day operation ofThe Summit Public Schools serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Private schools include Kent Place School, founded in 1894, and Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child (K6 coed; 712 for girls), which operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. The school's Mandarin Chinese and Spanish immersion program is part of the HudsonWay Immersion School (NS5), which offers Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and Mandarin English classes in English and Mandarin Chinese. It was founded in 1907 as Carlton Academy; it is now called St. Teresa of Avila School (K8) and is operated by the Archdioceses of Newark and Hackensack. It serves girls in preschool through 12th grade, and boys in grades 7-12. It is the only school in the district that is not part of a charter school system. The superintendent of schools is a member of the New Jersey Board of Education.

Youth sports

Summit has sports programs for youth including basketball, baseball, soccer, and football leagues through the Recreation Center. At age eight, children can try out for a traveling soccer program called the Summit Soccer Club. Many Division 1 lacrosse players have come from Summit, either through Summit High School, or via private schools. Summit holds the New Jersey state (and possibly national) high school record with 68 consecutive victories during 2009 to 2011. The 2012 team was ranked second in New Jersey in May 2012 and in the top 20 nationally. Summit has the fourth-most championship titles (2) and has finished runner-up four times. Since the Tournament of Champions (TOC) began in 2004, Summit has made the tournament 11 times. The Summit Area YMCA "Seals" Swim Team is a nonprofit dedicated to the development of youth soccer in the city. Travel soccer runs for both the fall and spring seasons. It is a popular sport with high school teams achieving distinction at state and national levels. It also has a youth lacrosse program for boys and girls beginning in first grade. It holds the third most NJSIAA Boys Group Titles. It has a high school boys' team that won the state's Tournament of champions in 2010 and 2009 and lost by one goal in the 2011 final. In May 2012, the 2012 Summit team wasranked second in the state and ranked second nationally. It was ranked in thetop 20 nationally in the same month as the 2012 New Jersey High School State Championship team.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Summit, Union County, New Jersey = 2.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 13. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Summit = 3.8 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 22,719 individuals with a median age of 38.2 age the population dropped by -2.84% in Summit, Union County, New Jersey population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,790.3 residents per square mile of area (1,463.4/km²). There are average 2.76 people per household in the 7,422 households with an average household income of $114,785 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.50% of the available work force and has dropped -3.41% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 23.68%. The number of physicians in Summit per 100,000 population = 225.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Summit = 48.8 inches and the annual snowfall = 28 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 118. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 208. 86 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 17.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 46, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Summit, Union County, New Jersey which are owned by the occupant = 65.06%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 59 years with median home cost = $682,800 and home appreciation of 5.11%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $25.06 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $9,422 per student. There are 12.8 students for each teacher in the school, 431 students for each Librarian and 562 students for each Counselor. 4.51% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 31.36% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 29.84% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).